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September 04, 2011

I Love Lucci

I'm pleased to know that if I were to ever--fingers crossed!--spend an extended amount of time with Susan Lucci, we'd have a lot to talk about (I mean, a lot to talk about following a series of questions that I'd try really hard to make more conversational and less interrogation-like: "Which of Erica's weddings was your favorite? Is David Canary as adorable in person as he is on the show, or is he even more so? How do you get your hair so big?"). Like, we could probably fill at least three hours trading stories of just how much Brian Frons is THE WORST, EVER because Susan Lucci hates him.

"I think our being in this position is the result of some very bad decisions by [Frons].”

The Emmy winner claims Frons oversaw “subpar” writing when he installed soap vet Chuck Pratt as headwriter in 2008 and pushed out AMC creator Agnes Nixon. She also maintains that Frons told her last spring that the legendary sudser would be replaced by food-based talk show The Chew because it was cheaper to produce.

“An iconic show was losing out to greed,” she allegedly writes. “If Brian Frons could show his bosses that he could save the network 40 percent … he could keep his job even if the rest of us lost ours… I watched Brian Frons’ decisions destroy the production of our show and the lives of people on both sides of the country… [He] has what, for me, is that fatal combination of ignorance and arrogance. I cannot fathom any network executive choosing to alienate millions of loyal viewers in these economic times.”

First of all: STARS! They're just like us! Except their smackdowns tend to be polite (calling Pratt's writing "subpar" is probably the biggest compliment he could ever hope for) and eloquent and most of my commentary on the increasingly bad decisions made by Frons have tended to be a string of expletives and a caps lock HATE! for good measure, but still, we're totally on the same wavelength here.

And secondly: yes, yes, a million times yes! I hope more people follow this trend of publicly calling out Frons on being LUDICROUSLY inept.

Honestly, I've never loved her more than I do now. I'm not even a loyal AMC watcher, I don't particularly consider myself a huge fan of Susan Luccu, but for this alone, I pledge my eternal love and devotion to her. Her honestly is refreshing and I'm pretty sure she's made comments before alluding to her disenchantment (ha!) with TPTB at ABC daytime and AMC.

Obviously I share her loathing of Frons. I don't really agree that he's inept though. He did what he was paid to do. It's right there in Lucci's statement---Frons saves the network 40% and keeps his job. The network created a specific set of incentives and Frons responded to them.

To me that means that the bosses who are paying him may be inept, but Frons is not. Evil, yes. Inept, no.

I REALLY hope that more actors come forward and speak out on this fool. Betcha Michael Knight will ... he tells it like it is on most interviews I've read/seen with him.

I just started watching AMC again in July after a 2-year hiatus prompted by Pratt and his shitty writing coupled with AMC turning into "The Lavery That Ate Pine Valley". And really --- it's SO GOOD now! Just very sad that there are only 14 more episodes to go. :(

That being said; please do not get me wrong here. I loved the book; it opened doors of Susan's we'd never seen inside.

However, does anyone remember her appearance on "The Talk"? She said two very contradicting things. Unless I'm crazy, she said that the network had done all they could; she also said the fans are what keeps them going. Honestly it seemed to me like she felt she was being cross examined and also I felt that it was edited to come across in a certain way - like you shouldn't know how she really feels. I have this sickening feeling The View appearance is going to be similar and she won't really be able to say anything negative about Frons, especially if he is sitting there!! I don't like to watch The View because they all squawk at each other. Their best moments have come from controversy, like when Rosie O'Donnell and Elizaass Hasselannoying had their fight over the war. The other thing I keep thinking about is that even while Prospect Park has licensed the rights to the show, ABC still ends up making money on the deal if it works. I have faith in PP and have been watching the developments closely. But back to LaLucci - I just want her to come through for the fans and tell the truth.

UPDATE: Wow, just heard the worst news... Looks like Susan has turned down Prospect Park's offer to stay with the show when it migrates online. She'd asked for fewer hours and a primetime series deal; they couldn't come through. Now I'm not having as much faith in them as they did say a few weeks back that they wanted AMC actors in all of their shows!! How they cannot lure and keep the one actor that makes this show a legacy is beyond me.

prefer you shouldn't ability she totally feels. I possess this sickening feeling The View presence is determined to be comparative and she won't quite have the ability to express anything negative about Frons, specifically provided that he is sitting there!

possess this sickening feeling The View presence is determined to be comparative and she won't quite have the ability to express anything negative about Frons, specifically provided that he is sitting there!

I support you on this decision to keep it more conversational and less interrogation when you meet Susan Lucci again. It is obvious that all you want to do is get some information from her but keeping it conversational will guarantee you that she will be more comfortable to open up to you.